1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to athletic gloves, and more particularly to a dual-mode glove, which in its catching mode permits a player wearing the glove to grasp an incoming ball, and which in its whacking mode acts as a paddle to permit the player to strike the ball to cause it to rebound.
2. Status of Prior Art
The main function of an athletic glove is to protect the hand of a player and in some cases to improve the player's performance. Thus if the glove is designed to facilitate catching a ball, then the glove, as in a catcher's glove for baseball, is oversize and is adapted to cushion the hand of the player. But when a baseball player is up at bat, he will often wear a thin, tight-fitting glove to enhance his grip on the bat.
The Luevano U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,016, discloses an athletic glove which will fit snugly on the hand, the palm zone of the glove having a cushion laminated thereto to protect the hand against injury. Similarly, in the protective glove shown in the Rector patent, a thick, resilient pad is secured to the palm zone of the glove.
The Finn U.S. Pat. No. 2,952,021, discloses a cushioned handball mitt having relatively stiff backhand and forehand panels so that the player wearing the mitt can apply a racket type stroke to the ball either forehand or backhand. This mitt has no fingers and the player cannot therefore catch a ball with the mitt.
The Goebel U.S. Pat. No. 4,176,407, discloses a hitting mitt in the form of a flexible pad formed into a tube into which the player can insert his hand without impeding the use of his fingers and thumb. This mitt is intended for volleyball in which the ball itself is struck by the palm of the player's hand.
In the glove shown in the Brewer et al. U.S. Pat. No. 1,558,666, a miniature circular racket having cross strings is attached to the glove so that the glove can be used to strike a ball. A similar racket and glove combination is shown in the Rittenhouse U.S. Pat. No. 1,523,899, the ball bouncing off the resilient cross strings of the racket. But these gloves cannot be used to catch a ball.
The present invention seeks to enlarge the play possibilities of a play ball of the type disclosed in my prior Spector U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,382. This play ball is constituted by an outer, non-stretchable flexible casing within which is a rubber balloon which is inflated to conform to the inner surface of the casing. In a rubber balloon which is inflated within the confines of a casing, the internal pressure therein is relatively high as compared to an inflated bladder whose molded shape matches that of the outer casing. Hence the play ball is much bouncier than a convention pneumatic play ball.
With a balloon-type play ball, the players can catch the ball or throw it with their bare hands. And they can also strike the ball with the palms of their hands. But with young children, in the heat of a game in which the ball goes back and forth quickly between the players, these actions may be painful and even result in minor injuries to the unprotected hands.
While a dual-mode glove in accordance with the invention is especially useful when used to play with a balloon-type play ball, the glove is by no means limited to this application, for the glove is useful with any type of ball, such as a ball formed of flexible foam, synthetic plastic material, in which the glove in one mode serves to protect the hand when catching the ball, and in another mode functions as a paddle to whack or strike the ball.